The Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the target of removing all unmanned level crossings could be achieved within a year, instead of the initial goal of doing it in three years.

Commenting on the issue, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal told the media, "Initially, the Railways had a target of removing all unmanned crossings in three years. But, I told them, why not do it within a year."

“Around 5,000 unmanned level crossings, which account for nearly 30-35 per cent of total rail accidents, need to be removed by the railways in the next one year,” he added.

He also advocated the use of technology to reduce manual maintenance of rail tracks, as it entails huge manpower.

"All you need is some infrastructure and a set of communication devices. The RailTel has already prepared the optic fibre network for improving communication," the minister said.